


a million ways to die

by kingsprite



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Minor Character Death, Multi, Slow Burn, its BUCK WILD, michaels a dick but a dick with reasons, will there be a happy ending??? idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-20 13:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11921748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingsprite/pseuds/kingsprite
Summary: He had to move faster. The obnoxious horn went off again. It couldn't be more than a fee miles off and it was moving fast. Jeremy wasn't going to get his friend off the train tracks on time. Not on this try.---In which a kid who has no business time travelling would give the world and more to save his best friend.





	a million ways to die

Jeremy leaned his head against the glass, warm and minty breath quickly fogging it up. He kept his eyes out the window, watching scenery pass him by.

It wasn't enough to say he was uncomfortable on the bus- at eighteen years old, he should've been driving by now. He was too old to still be sitting in one of the front seats, arms clutching his bag and ear buds playing music lousy enough that he couldn't hear the murmuring of those around him.

Twenty three minutes and four stops later, the bus slowly pulled up in front of Middle Borough Academy. Jeremy shuffled to his feet, avoiding looking at anyone as he exited.

It was suprising no one remembered him from before he moved- though, the change from a semiconfident, short, and fresh faced eleven year old into a tall, gangly eighteen year old with acne scars marring his face was a big one. Not like he made himself known back then anyways.

Either way, he'd been going here for a month now and it was... different from what he remembered. The kids he'd seen had aged dramatically, but they were still recognizable. Familiar in a strange way.

Jeremy slipped into his Theatre History class, running his palms across the strap of his messenger bag. The rought fabric helped to ground him. Giving a quick nod to the teacher, he made his way towards his designated seat in the back.

Per usual, he fixed his eyes onto the textbook in front of him and pretended to read, quickly zoning out as his teacher started the lecture.

Glancing over to the left, he caught a brunette giving him a dirty look. Chloe, his mind supplied. Why was she staring at him like that- it wasn't like he had the time to do anything wrong yet.

A glance around the classroom showed that a few other kids were looking at him expectantly, including the teacher.

Mr. Reyes rose a brow, seemingly waiting on something Jeremy wasn't prepared to give. "Well, Mr. Heere?"

The teen shifted uncomfortably in his seat and rubbed at his arms, immediately regretting not tuning in to the conversation.

"Erm...yes...?" The answer was hesitant, seeing as Jeremy didn't know what was directed at him.

His stomach lurched, hands going from rubbing to scratching as the class started up a laugh. Jeremy saw Brooke Lohst- a blonde girl sitting closer to the front- giving him more of a pitiful look.

At least not everyone was shitty.

"Fortunately, the firest musical was not called yes. The name was actually The Black Crook. It's on page 479 of your book, if you'd like to catch up."

Jeremy nodded awkwardly, wishing for a chance to go back and redo that situation. "Can I- may, I mean, uhm. May I go use the restroom? Please?" He hated how his faulty voice cracked near the end. It happened whenever his heart started to beat too fast.

"Certainly. You weren't focusing anyways." Chloe snorted at Mr. Reyes response before offering her own.

"Has he ever? He's too busy watching porn on his phone."

Jeremy ignored her, shooting up from his seat and leaving quicker than he thought himself capable. His eyes stung with a familiar feeling and he wasn't going to have the class watch him breakdown.

It wasn't long before he wound up in the bathroom, back pressed against the far back wall.

There was a nice nook he could hide himself in, something he'd only done twice before. It was next to a large bucket and a fire alarm. The latter was a stupid thing to put in the boys bathroom.

Not enough time passed before the door opened and slammed shut. Jeremy pressed himself against the wall even flatter, eyes blown wide.

An easily recognizable voice was muttering, presumably to himself. It's not like anyone would immediately detect Jeremy's presence.

"...you're so fucking stupid, God damnit. There's a reason they left and this is it. Just couldn't stand being around you, not anymore. Too many years of your shit got in their heads."

Jeremy slipped forward to peak around a stall, watching Jake Dillinger mumble into the mirror. The boy's hair was a mess and his eyes look red.

What the fuck happened to Middle Borough's golden boy? There's no reason for the richest boy at school to be having a meltdown in a dirty bathroom at 11:57 AM.

He should go do something. Offer advice, maybe. A shoulder to rant on.

No, no. That was the shittiest idea his brain could supply. Jake hated kids like him. The athletic teen would kick his ass any other day, but Jeremy had heard he had been more volalite these past few months.

He wasn't getting involved with that sort of drama. As Jeremy made his choice to shuffle past while Jake was busy monologing, the door swung open again.

Panicked, Jeremy threw himself back into the nook, trying to calm his beating heart.

"Dillenger. I need my money back or I'm fucked." Jeremy... didn't recognize that voice. But their tone was rough and agitated, clearly tired of asking.

"And I need you to leave me alone or you're fucked." Oh, God. Jeremy was uncomfortable. He should've gone to the bathroom upstairs.

The new voice scoffed, unbothered. "I got you the clozapine shit you wanted- which wasn't easy. Had to do a lot of digging to find that. And it wasn't cheap. I need cash, buddy."

"Fuck off or the next thing you'll be digging is a grave." Jeremy peered around the corner again, biting back a screech when he saw the glint of metal in Jake's hand.

This wasn't happening- not to him. Not today. He gave the new guy a quick look. Just some brown kid with a ragged hoodie on. Jake associated with people like that?

The teen didn't look fazed with a gun pointed towards his spleen. "You aren't gonna do anything. Daddy can't help you out of murder, can he?"

Jake shoved the teen back, very obviously pissed. "You don't known who you're messing with."

"Some psycho white boy who thinks drugs are cool? Yeah, I can take a guess."

"Don't fucking call me psycho. I  _hate_  that word." The teen winced as Jake rammed the gun futter into his gut. "God, would you back the hell  _up_?"

All three boys in the room froze at the sound that echoed through the room. A new shade of red spread out from Jake's gun across the boy's hoodie, leaving the teen with a look of disbelief on his face.

Jeremy didn't know what to do next other than reach out with a hand raised as the boy fell to his knees.

Glancing over to the left, he caught a brunette giving him a dirty look. Chloe Valentine. A glance around the classroom showed that a few other kids were looking at him expectantly, including the teacher. What the fuck.

Mr. Reyes rose a brow. "Well, Mr. Heere?"

"The, erh. The Black Crook." He mumbled, brow furrowed.

His teacher made a sound approval, going back to the lesson.

Jeremy stared down at his hands and leaned his chair back, thoroughly confused. Had he fallen asleep in class? Maybe it was all some weird dream, but it didn't explain the heavy feeling lingering in his gut.

Speaking of gut feelings, Jeremy felt his stomach drop to his knees as the chair tipped backwards.

He lifted his hand out of instinct to grab at the desk before he felt a tug in the back of his mind. The lanky teen watched, half in awe, half in terror, as everything started to go backwards.

A crumpled paper (something that just had to be terrible, no one was goodnto Brooke recently) Chloe was throwing across his desk at Brooke flew back into the hand of it's writer.

Mr. Reyes flipped backward in the textbook, the bite he had taken of a pizza bar falling out of his mouth.

Jeremy's chair righted itself and the world snapped back into action. He kept his eyes on Chloe before somehow successfully nabbing the ball of paper out the air. He shoved it into his cardigan pocket and noted the girl's face shift from shock to disgust. Great, she's not gonna forget that.

Then the shock of what just happened set in. He'd done something theoretically impossible- he'd just changed time. That couldn't be right. Maybe his medication was giving him hallucinations. Even though that... wasn't a listed side effect. 

The next thing that hit him was his memory of the bathroom. It happened. He watched Jake Dillinger kill a kid. Jeremy shot up from his seat and rushed to the door, throwing the lame excuse that he 'had to puke' over his shoulder. 

Bathroom. He could save that kid. Jeremy was running fast as his long legs would take him- fast enough that he saw Jake approaching the bathroom and just barely had time to dive in and scurry to the nook.

Moments after, Jake's voice was ringing out in the bathroom.

"...you're so fucking stupid, God damnit. There's a reason they left and this is it. Just couldn't stand being around you, not anymore. Too many years of your shit got in their heads."

Jeremy stayed in the little corner, steadying his breathing. What was he going to do to save this kid? He could seemingly try however many times he needed to, seeing as time travel wouldn't be limited. Hopefully. 

The dead boy walking entered and Jeremy paid little mind as they rehashed their discussion. Think, Heere, you can save someone. You're the powerful person you've always wanted to be.

He ran his fingers along the edge of the bucket and held onto the mop to steady himself. There was nothing here but the fire alarm and the three boys.

Wait, no. That had to be it. In a fit of impulsiveness, he tightened his grip on the mop handle and rammed it into the glass. Quick as he could, he grabbed hold of the fire alarm and yanked.

In a matter of seconds, the alarm was blaring throughout the school. He could see the mirrors from where he was and watched the two escape from the room.

Jeremy leaned his head against a cool stall, giving a dry and pained laugh. He just risked his ass and education for a kid he didn't know. The karma better be great.


End file.
